Monday, May 06, 2013

Manakesh Zaatar

Our very
first attempt from the Arab cuisine. Manakesh, an all time favourite of all of
us here at home especially the kids. Inspite of being living in the Middle East
since quite a long time, I had never bothered to try out any of the Arab
delicacies though we used to relish most of them from the Arab restaurants
here.

This Arab
bread was finally baked in my kitchen the other day. I should thank my cousin
Rekha for this. She asked me if I could do a guest post in her blog Food0licious Pictured. She
runs a beautiful blog with many delicious recipes. I wanted to give her
something different, and what more could I give her staying in an Arab country
other than an Arab delight. You can find us in her blog here.

For all
those of you, who are not much aware of Zaatar and Manakish, “Zaatar” in Arabic is a traditional Middle
Eastern herb mixture popularly eaten in countries such as Palestine, Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. It is traditionally eaten as part of a healthy
breakfast with flat bread and olive oil or yogurt cheese. It is also used to
spice chicken, meat and vegetables and can be mixed with olive oil and vinegar
to make a salad dressing.

It is a
mixture that is made out of mostly dried thyme, oregano, sesame seeds and
sumac….there are many variations to it that consists of cumin, coriander,
fennel seeds etc.

Here in UAE,
it is readily available in all the grocery stores. For all those of you who are
not in the Middle East can either check it out at any Middle Eastern grocery
store or you can even make it at home.

If you are
going for the home made zaatar you will need

1/4 cup
sumac

2
tablespoons thyme

1 tablespoon
roasted sesame seeds

2
tablespoons marjoram

2 tablespoons
oregano

1 teaspoon
coarse salt

Coarsely
grind the sesame seeds in a food processor or with mortar and pestle. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. That’s it, zaatar is ready!!!

This zaatar
can be stored for a long period if kept in an airtight container in a cool and
dark place.

Manakesh
Zaatar

Manakesh,
manakeesh or Manaeesh is an Arabic food consisting of a dough similar to a
pizza dough, topped with zaatar, cheese(Akaawi cheese) or ground meat, but used
widely in many Levantine countries such as Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and
Palestine. Similar to a pizza, it can be sliced or folded, and it can either be
served for breakfast or lunch.

A very tasty
and healthy dish which should be had with a cup of sweet black tea.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose
flour

2 teaspoons
active dry yeast

1 teaspoon
salt

1/4 cup
water, lukewarm

1 cup zaatar

1/2 cup
olive oil

Method

Mix the
yeast in ¼ cup of lukewarm water and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Mix the
zaatar with the olive oil and keep aside.

In a bowl
mix the flour and salt. Add the yeast solution and knead well to form a soft
dough by adding water little by little.

Grease a
bowl with a little oil and transfer the dough into this bowl. Cover the bowl
with a moist kitchen towel and keep it in a warm place for 1- 2 hours. After 2
hours the dough will rise and double in size.

Knead the
risen dough on a floured surface for a few minutes. Now divide the dough into 8
equal parts and using a rolling pin, roll out each portion into your desired
thickness and size(thickness depends on whether you want a crusty or soft base.
For a crusty base roll out into thin rounds and for a soft base roll out into
thick rounds.)

Using a fork
prick generously on the rolled out bases. Now smear one tablespoon of the
zaatar and olive oil mixture on each base. Spread it all over the base.